Interview & Contest with Jill Myles
Today, I have Jill Myles here on her blog tour for the new release, GENTLEMEN PREFER SUCCUBI! She’s going to give us some great advice about the agent search, and you’ll have a chance to enter the blog tour contest–the prize is a query critique from Jill’s awesome agent, Holly Root. All you have to do is comment on this post. For each tour stop you comment on, you earn an extra entry in the drawing, and the limit is one comment per post. Jill will announce the winner on her own blog at the end of the tour. For a list of the complete tour schedule, check out Shelli’s post here.
First, welcome Jill and congrats on your release! Since the big prize at the end of your blog tour is a query critique from the awesome Holly Root, I’d like to talk about getting an agent today. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers on crafting that perfect query letter?
I think being specific about story details that make your story different is key. Too often, I think we (as writers) have difficulty summarizing a big plot into something succinct. So we take the easy way out and give a vague tease, like “As troubles escalate, the heroine must decide what she is fighting for and what she truly wants.”
BORING.
What sorts of troubles are escalating? Why does she have to fight? What does she want? What makes this unique? You have to really bring it. If the agent has to ask “Why?” or “What?” in the query letter, I’m not doing my job right. “Escalating troubles” could be struggling in algebra, or it could be an alien uprising. Being too broad does not help your story.
First pages are definitely important. The trick is that you have to make someone want to keep reading. You need to start off with a bang - and by a bang, I mean that you need to make someone keep reading. It doesn’t have to be all action and shooting guns - it could be introspection, but it needs to be really good introspection. And leave off at the part where you know the reader would be dying to read more. As far as advice for making them shine? Print it out and read it. Have a friend sit down and read it aloud to you. Read it again after that. It really helps to be grammatically perfect, of course, but you need to make sure that your voice is evident more than anything else.
Look at this as a job you’re applying for. Your query letter is your resume. If you don’t hear back or get rejected, it has nothing to do with you and everything to do with your resume. Just keep working on it until you start getting some of those ‘call backs’.
Every relationship is going to be different, I think. Some people like to call every day and some people prefer to be left alone. I’m kind of somewhere in the middle - I might email repeatedly when something is in the works, but otherwise I might be totally silent. I think it’s key to respect your agent’s time (she’s got a bunch of clients, and you only have one agent) but you also need to make sure that your needs are being met. If you have certain expectations, set them up front. If you want that weekly conference call, establish that at the get-go.
Trust is a big one. I know I find it really hard to work if something is bothering me, so I ask all kinds of questions. Even if my agent has a small answer or even a non-answer and a “I’ll get back to you”, once I hear back from her, I’m confident that she’s on it. Nothing is worse than emails that disappear into Never-never-land, or conference calls that never happen. If you don’t feel that you trust the agent you sign with to look out for your career to the best of their ability, then don’t sign. It is 100% true that a bad agent is worse than no agent.
Luckily, I have a terrific agent!
Thanks for stopping by Jill, and congrats again!
Be sure to comment below for a chance to win the critique, and check out Jill’s next blog tour stop tomorrow with Kerri, where she’ll be chatting about mythology and research.
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Comments
Great interview! Always nice to hear that authors are allowed to express their expectations in an agent-author relationship as well. Congrats, Jill!
I have to say I hate query letters but you are totally right Jill.
Work hard and don’t give up, is the way you have to be.
Thanks for the interview, Jen! And as always, thanks for the words of wisdom Jill.
Thanks, Jill! It’s really nice to get some insight into the process of getting and working with an agent. I think this is one part of writing that is still such a mystery to many of us.
Margay
Jen,
Wonderful interview! Jill, I smell bestseller!!!
xoxo — Hilary
Great query letter tips! Especially about being specific to make your work sound as unique as it (hopefully) is. Don’t make the agent have to ask “why?” or “what?”– I’ll remember that for my next letter.
Thanks!
Congratulations Jill! I can’t wait to pick up this book
As part of a salesperson pep talk, I was once told that they’re not saying no to you, they’re saying no to the offer. Don’t take it personally.
I never considered applying that advice to a query. Writing is such a personal thing, even the query letter, it’s hard not to take it personally. Thanks for the new outlook, Jill!
This is the year when I’m pulling up my big girl knickers and sending out the query letter. So thanks for the tips! And good luck with the book…though with a title like that, I think you’ve got a real gem
This is the year of the query. I’m embracing it. Great advice. Details! Details! Details! I love hearing success stories.
Excellent information, Jill!
Cheers,
Erin
so true about query letters and resumes.
Great tips! Especially love the example of vague and boring. Good luck on your tour!
Love hearing about the agent/author relationship. I have to admit, Jill, you sound braver than me. Great tour so far!
-Mandy
great interview…. the info about query letter and author/agent relationship is very interesting!
Great interview. It’s nice to hear the agent/author relationship can be done through email. Makes me feel more comfortable.
I think you hit it on the head about the specific details that make your story different. Hmmm, my query letter is full of those vague sentences that are not only boring, but cliche. Thanks for the tip!
Kelly Gibian
Thanks for the interview. Those are some great tips for querying.
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